A 16-year-old stabbing victim is recovering from surgery. Witnesses and Target employees pleaded with a man to stop hurting her before jumping into action to prevent him from doing more damage inside the store.

A 16-year-old stabbing victim is recovering from surgery. Witnesses and Target employees pleaded with a man to stop hurting her before jumping into action to prevent him from doing more damage inside the store.

A girl who police say was assaulted and held as a human shield in Target looks forward to going home and playing softball again. Her father is grateful for the men who put their lives on the line for 16-year-old Allison.

Still recovering from surgery after being stabbed twice inside Target in East Liberty this week, Meadows was able to leave Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh on Thursday morning and start heading home with her family to Tennessee.

"We love Pittsburgh, but we're homesick and ready to get home," her father, Bill Meadows, told reporters while leaving the hospital. "It was a tough ordeal, but she's taking it in stride. Each day, she's getting progressively better."

The teen was shopping at the store with her mother and sister-in-law Monday afternoon when she was stabbed in the arm and back, which punctured her lung. She underwent surgery for her wounds and doctors were able to restore air to her collapsed lung.

Pittsburgh police said the girl was held against her will at knifepoint in one of the checkout lanes and used as a shield until four men came to her aid. While in the hospital this week, Allison and her family had a chance to meet and thank those heroes.

"It was really moving to be able to shake hands with the person who was there on my behalf and stepped in, put their (lives) on the line, and for my daughter, it was incredibly moving experience," said Glen Meadows. "Even though it happened, we're really grateful God spared her life by the fact these guys just jumped into a fight that really wasn’t theirs and, you know, they jumped into a fight that literally saved my daughter's life."

He said his family has been traveling to Pittsburgh every six or seven weeks for the past year to visit his 3-year-old grandson who underwent a triple-organ transplant last March.

"Pittsburgh is a great city. This hospital is a great institution, and I couldn't say enough," said Glen Meadows. "Never dreamed that we'd be a patient here with her at this hospital, but we've made many visits to this hospital visiting Cooper. We're grateful for these great citizens of Pittsburgh that are heroes."

Police said 41-year-old Leon Raymond Walls entered the Target store on Penn Avenue around 5:30 p.m. Monday and headed toward the restroom. Shortly after, two men came in looking for him, and one of them followed him into the restroom, where he was chased out by the knife-wielding Walls, police said. (Slideshow: Photos from the scene)

According to the criminal complaint, the incident began when Walls stabbed a man named Jobe Wright near a construction site on nearby Highland Avenue. Police said Walls ran down the street toward Penn Circle and into Target, followed by Wright, his friend Michael Turner, and Tyrique Walker, who called 911 to report their location, and Roland Smith, who grabbed a baseball bat to help Wright.

Once they were all inside the store, "Walls saw Walker and attempted to stab him with a large swing at his neck area," the complaint said. "Walls, missing his target, then moved towards the checkout area at the Target store where he began trying to stab additional victims who were in the store. Walls then grabbed Allison Meadows and held her against her will at knifepoint in one of the checkout lanes to use her as a shield. Victims Hosea Davis, Mike Turner, Jobe Wright and Roland Smith attempted to subdue Walls and to free Meadows when they saw him poke the knife into Meadows' back."

A witness said he grabbed a bat that was on the ground and beat Walls with it, helping to subdue the man until police arrived.

"That little girl, he just kept stabbing her. I just couldn't stand there and watch that. You can't stand there and watch that," he said. "It was crazy in there. That was horrible. That was something you don't want to see again, ever." (Raw Video: Witness describes using baseball bat to stop stabbing)

Two of the men -- one with a cut to his lip and another with cuts to his fingers -- were treated at UPMC Presbyterian.

Walls was first taken to UPMC Mercy to be treated for pepper spray exposure, then was taken to the Allegheny County Jail for arraignment on charges including attempted homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, unlawful restraint, simple assault and resisting arrest.

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